Crazy Train

It was the year 1665-1666. Shabbtai Zvi was building support for him as the Messiah, especially in Ismir, his hometown, in Turkey. There was significant opposition to him as a movement, particularly by the institutional rabbinic authorities, but it wasn’t enough. 

His followers approached him like a king, a sultan. They were the “believers” and they actually began to oppose and persecute the opposition, the “heretics”... Here is a famous incident:

"On the Sabbath day, in his synagogue... he took a long time reciting the morning psalms and hymns, which they did not even finish, neither did they recite the Shema. After they had spent a long time over the morning hymns, he proceeded to the Portuguese Synagogue, accompanied by everyone who was in distress and trouble and all vain and light persons.

The members of the Portuguese congregation did not believe in him, and as they were greatly agraid that the embittered crowd might strike at them, they locked the doors of the synagogue. Thereupon in his wrath he asked for an ax and began to smash the doors on the Sabbath.

When they beheld this, they opened the doors and he entered the synagogue just as they were reciting the Nishmath hymn. He interrupted their prayer and began to preach a blasphemous sermon, continuing with more humns and prayers until the time for the statutory morning prayer had elapsed.

Then he announced: "Today you are exempt from the duty of prayer," and took a printed copy of the Pentateuch from his bag, declaring that it was holier than the Torah scroll. He read the pentateuchal lesson, calling his elder brother (Elijah) first as if he were a priest and making him king of Turkey. His second brother he appointed emperor of Rome.

He called none of the many priests and Levites present in the synagogue to the reading of the Torah, but he called many other men and even women to whom he distributed kingdoms, and he forced all of them to pronounce the Ineffeable Name.

The next day the rabbis met in council and summoned him to explain why he had thus trespassed the Law. He replied angrily that he knew what he was doing, and immediately went to the cadi (the judge of the city), to whom he spoke and whom he gave a valuable gift. The cadi thereupon sent for the rabbis, who feared for their lives and hid in their houses."

Carpi (in Scholem's Mystical Messiah, 396-397)

Supernatural Phenomena

Not only that, besides the craziness, the rage, the zeal… We hear of abnormal or parapsychological incidents, considered as prophetic.

According to different sources, in Ismir and in Aleppo in Syria for example, hundreds were shaking, fainting, and yelling – yelling sorts of things like Shabbtai Zvi is the Messiah King of Israel! and such, and that the hour of redemption is here, and after such incidents they would come to their senses and have no recollection of what they were saying or doing. Including women and children.

These prophetic acts, prophetic outbreak, took place in many cities, not just one random location. It was widespread. The prophetic material evolved into literature, meditations and poetic expressions in regards to the character and essence of Shabbtai Zvi as the Messiah.

The literature utilized gematria, combinations of letters, and interpretive creative commentary of scriptures and other sacred writings – applying the content to the revealed messiah.

Such phenomena went all around the Jewish world and made its way back again to Nathan of Gaza, Nathan the Prophet – from Yemen to Kurdistan, Eastern to Western Europe, Israel, the Levant, and North Africa.

It was a mix of paranormal phenomena, literary expression, and utility of tikkunim, namely letters and other directives originating from Nathan himself. They would repent, practice ascetic measures ecstatically.

Many Jewish believers settled debts, sold assets, abandoned their crafts… In some cities, some areas of commerce that were dominated by Jews simply shut down. There were celebrations, singing and dancing, including newly written messianic songs.

Historical Accounts

"Henceforth the gates of rejoicing were opened, and the days had come when God would fulfill what He had promised through His prophets.

The messiah dwelt among them, and thus they depended no longer on Nathan’s letters; for signs were wrought to them. They saw with their own ears, and signs were wrought to them...

He always traveled with his tallit drawn over his head. When they remonstrated with him that he was endangering his life and that he would be killed by brigands [who would take them for rich Jewish merchants] he interrupted them, but, by command from above that he acted thus...

At the end of the letter they added that since they believed in the prophecy of Nathan, they had decided to cease all business, to put on sackcloth and ashes, and to devote themselves to penitence, charity and prayer so as to be worthy to behold the fulfillment of the prophecy...

Finally they called on their friends [in Constantinople] to follow their example, and not that of the people in Jerusalem who had driven out their king and had fallen under the curse of God.

Already the people of Aleppo, it is said, had felt the abundance of grace, and their wives and children had begun to prophesy. Some of them had fallen to the ground without pulse or movement, and remained lying there cold and stiff, like dead men, until the sound of the shofar was heard. Then they would rise, with open mouths, articulating Hebrew words which they themselves did not understand, and in the end they exclaimed: “Sabbatai Ẓevi, our redeemer and holy one.

De la Croix (in Scholem's Mystical Messiah, 257-258)

"Everybody went to the prophet in Gaza, and when the turn of Hebron came, I went with the whole holy congregation. When I stood before Nathan the prophet all my bones shook, although I had known him before, for his countenance was completely changed.

The radiance of his face was like that of a burning torch, the color of his beard was like gold, and his mouth was a font of wisdom. He beamed at the most ordinary things, now shook words that made the listeners tremble.

His tongue speaks great things … and the ear can hardly take in that which comes out of his mouth with wonderful eloquence. And verily, every moment he tells new things, the like of which have not been heard since the day that the Law was given on Mount Sinai."

Cuenque (in Scholem's Mystical Messiah, 260)

Levels of Experience

What we just encountered succinctly challenges our perception of what happened there. It was messianic in the sense that the movement - the persona, the close followers, the masses, the literature, everything - picked up an ecstatic nature. The messianic ecstasy. It was like people had gone crazy, crazy for the messianic redemption and the messianic leader and prophet. 

Had they really gone crazy? Were many persons swept into a matter of trance, or parapsychological phenomena? However you estimate what really happened based on the accounts like those above, one way or another it is exemplary of a powerful religious experience, in this case, a messianic one.

People sold their belongings. Lots of people. Educated and wealthy people, along with the poor and uneducated. Jews in the villages and in the cities. They were spiritually, seemingly at least, overcome with messianic fervor and the creative courageous divine touch of prophecy. 

I reckon this layer, that swept everyone along, and swept people's pysches into that extra layer of human experience, at the very least, that was on top of the previous layers, the eccentric behavior and personality of Shabbtai Zvi along with the rationalization theologically (Lurianic Kaballah) by the established yet opportunistic Nathan of Gaza, all on top of the general messianic worldview and tension Jews felt in that era.